organization tips for working moms
Organization Tips for Working Moms
If you're battling to avoid a state of hysteria every morning as you get your kids ready for school, get to work, get back home, and again rush to do all that you can, you are not alone. There a lot of moms just like you, who could do with some help. Read in this article some very straightforward organization tips for working moms that you can easily absorb and use.
- First thing, go out and get yourself a day planner. You can even use a simple notebook if you wish.
- Now, begin from the day that you buy the planner (or start using it), and divide it into as many sections as the activities you need to get done on a regular basis.
- Make a special section for unforeseen events, accidents, or emergencies.
- In these sections, make as many subsections as you require, based on the type of things you have to do. For instance, if you have a section for meals, you can divide it into breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
- The point of the planner is to make sure everything runs smoothly and is planned well in advance. So jot down all the things that will occupy your time for the entire week and divide them accordingly (read reasonably) among the next 7 days.
- Involve the entire family in an everyday cleaning regime. Make charts denoting who needs to do what. Delegate simple things like doing the dishes, dusting the furniture, taking the garbage out, wiping the counter after a meal, putting away the washed utensils to your kids.
- Time these chores for your kids and give them rewards for doing them.
- Have special days assigned for the bigger, yet regular, chores like watering the garden, vacuuming the carpets, washing the car, etc.. Make sure you follow the schedule, else you'll have chores piling up.
- Laundry is one of the most annoying household chores that needs to be taken care of quite frequently. Simplify it by doing a little of it everyday or every two days rather than doing the entire lot on a weekend. If your kids are old enough to operate the washing machine, teach them how to do it and assign them the duty of turning it on once everyone is done bathing. After they get back from school, they can take out their own clothes, even fold them up, and keep them in their rooms. You can do yours when you get back from work. Do this about thrice a week and you'll see the pile reducing very quickly. Plus, the kids won't crib because they'll be doing only their own clothes.
- First, segregate how many sections or types of papers you might have filled in your drawers. Now, go out to the stationery store and buy folders for each category that you have enlisted. Buy a few extra ones, just in case.
- Get all your papers out, sift through them, and just make different piles for bills, important receipts, kids' medical documents, your medical documents, bank statements and other papers, your house papers, car papers, insurance papers, kids' school records, your employment records, and other important ones.
- Discard any old and unnecessary papers and keep the latest and updated ones.
- Once you've made these piles, simply label each folder and file with the corresponding papers in them.
- Keep these folders in a cupboard or drawer, and remember that it contains only important documents. Don't put anything else in this space.
- Pantry: In the pantry, label all bottles, jars, and boxes with the names of their contents. This includes: spices, cereals, pulses, lentils, jams, sauces, confectionery, oils, flour, and other similar items in your kitchen. In the refrigerator, label the meats, vegetables, juices, etc. This will not only make it more organized, but will also help other people who enter your kitchen to find things easily.
- First Aid Box: Another essential item that you need to categorically label is a first aid box. Your kids are going to be prone to a lot of small accidents and injuries as they grow up. By keeping a first aid box within their reach, you can ensure that they not only know where it is kept but also find whatever they need from it. Make sure it is always filled with the necessary items like antiseptic cream, adhesive bandages like Band-Aid, a disinfectant salve, gauze, medical tape, glucose powder, and other such items. Check for expiry dates and replenish the contents of the box as and when required. Also, keep all emergency numbers at hand and in plain view of the kids, in case they have to use them.
- Tools: Tools are another group of items that you cannot leave just lying around. They'll not only clutter the place, they could end up injuring someone seriously. So, have a big box for your tools. Make it two if you have electric as well as manual tools. Clean them, put them in plastic bags, and then in their respective boxes, after labeling both, the bag and the box.
- Utensils: If you have drawers for utensils, it's better to denote where what is kept with tiny labels or have your kids draw small pictures of cutlery, pans, pots, and ladles, and stick them (with scotch tape on top) on the respective drawers. This will not only keep the kitchen well-organized, it will also prevent an early morning rush.
- Make a list of food items that everyone enjoys, including healthy food items and divide them a week in advance.
- Keep easy recipes for these dishes at hand. Maintain a weekly book with daily meals and their recipes for quick reference. Don't forget to keep an extra copy of the ingredients with your shopping list.
- Make lists for everything that you need. Fix a day to check your reserves at home, for everything from grocery to toiletry to fertilizer to pet food.
- When the lists are done, decide one day in the week to get all the shopping done.
- Divide the shopping among yourself and your husband, or alternate the errand.
- Keep the lists after you get back, you might need the same ones next time.
- Have the kids pack their bags for the next day and keep them ready the previous evening. Make this a routine thing to be done religiously every evening.
- To avoid an early morning brawl over the breakfast table, have them pick out their own lunch boxes, cups, plates, and bowls. This will avoid unnecessary fuss and fights.
- Make a schedule for all extra-curricular activities by carefully checking fixed appointments and flexible ones.
- Once this is done, you need to include it in your day planner and check that itineraries don't clash.
- Alternate days for dropping off and picking up the kids from their respective classes, courses, play dates, study groups, and others, between yourself and your husband, depending on the availability of time.
- Also, fix a day to get your car tank filled with fuel, whether you need it or not. Keeping the tank full at all times can help save time in case of emergencies.
- In your planner, make a provision for spending some time on and with yourself.
- Have special days or dates (whatever is more convenient for you) marked out for things like salon appointments, doctor's appointments, meeting friends and neighbors, visiting your parents, and the like.
- Make arrangements for the kids to be taken care of for this duration.
- Abide by this schedule strictly, for your sake and for your family's.